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Just saw this via the London Reconnections blog and, oh my god, I think you could not do a worse job of redesigning the tube map if you tried.

“Paint all the lines the same colour. Send a train into London centre from Zone 6. Which identically coloured line does it emerge from on the other side? Fuck knows. Good luck!”

I mean, look at Oxford Circus? Which are the through lines? No? Me neither.

And this is promoted as “accessible”. God help us all.


https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-pro/mapping/mind-the-map-a-new-design-for-the-london-underground-map/


Mind the map: a new design for the London Underground map

A modern take on the London tube map with updated accessible colours, a re-classification of lines by type, and line symbols scaled by frequency
Kenneth Field (Esri)
in reply to Sarah Brown

Colman Reilly
Colman Reilly
• •
which line do I need from Liverpool St to Covent Garden? That's what I need to know from a tube map and this doesn't tell me. Moving as fast as I can because I'm just in from Stansted and my workshop is in an hour because the flight was delayed.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Girl on the Net
Girl on the Net
• •
this is deeply upsetting to my eyes and my soul
in reply to Girl on the Net

Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown
•
@Girl on the Net who needs to know where they’re going when they can tell at a glance which lines were built using cut and cover, which are deep level tubes, and which are national rail loading gauge? EVERY TOURIST MUST KNOW THIS VITAL INFO
@Girl on the Net

reshared this

in reply to Girl on the Net

Claudius Link
Claudius Link
• •

@girlonthenet
It feels so wrong on so many levels.

Even the train frequency is rather confusing rather than helpful on the map. It doesn't offer choice. If I want to get from A to B I usually can't choose a more frequent lines but have to choose the lines which get me there. Same applies to mode of transport.

Additionally, this would mean all maps need to be reprinted if the frequency is changed.

Oh, and the frequency distinction is ridiculously precise. And is there any line with ❤ minutes frequency? I certainly can't see any at the first glance

@Girl on the Net
in reply to Sarah Brown

CJ Lemire
CJ Lemire
• •
No. The Circle Line is yellow. It's been yellow longer than I've been alive. Get off my damn lawn.
in reply to Sarah Brown

David Matthewman
David Matthewman
• •
Ugh. Oxford Circus is awful, as you say, but both ends of the Waterloo and City aren't much better. It's not at all clear that that line doesn't filter into one of the other ones out of the far side.
in reply to David Matthewman

Sarah Brown
Sarah Brown
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@David Matthewman But you can tell the loading gauge at a glance, David! Obviously very useful info.
@David Matthewman
in reply to Sarah Brown

David Matthewman
David Matthewman
• •
Yes. Much warranted sarcasm aside, I am right in the target audience for 'this encodes information I am geekily interested in' and I hate it.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Mike Knell
Mike Knell
• •
Ah, another cartographer convinced that Harry Beck had it all wrong because he wasn’t a cartographer when in fact he got it all *right* because he wasn’t a cartographer.
in reply to Sarah Brown

Christof Damian 💙💛
Christof Damian 💙💛
• •
there are some nice ideas, like the thickness of the lines (not that I noticed), and different stations and connections.
Losing the proper colours is obviously not going to work for anyone.
Who cares if something is overground or underground anyway?
in reply to Sarah Brown

Hypolite Petovan
Hypolite Petovan
• •
@Sarah Brown Looks like Kenneth made a fool of himself in an official mapping product blog, but at least the actual London transportation map is safe.
@Sarah Brown
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